My new Thinkpad T41

[ricardov]

After much anticipation, I just received my new Thinkpad (my first.) I purchased a T41 23737FU for $1,000 and thought it was a good deal. No dead pixels and I upgraded to 1GB RAM from Crucial. I was drawn to the Thinkpad particularly because of everything I read regarding its superior build quality. Although it seems pretty snappy, I am dissapointed by the following (not in any particular order):

- The top part of the CD drive has a noticable gap between it and the chassis.

- If I put each hand at the top corners of the screen while its open it allows me to flex it under very, very little pressure.

- I can do the same thing with the bottom part.

Overall, I like the keyboard, sleek profile, and bright screen. However, I'm left with the impression that the quality is not really any different than the cheap laptops I've seen and tested at Best Buy, CompUSA, etc.

I own a Compaq N620c that my wife has taken over, hence my need for the new laptop. Simply put, the Compaq is built like a tank and this Thinkpad feels fragile.

Did I expect too much from the Thinkpad?

[daeojkim]

Welcome to the forum,

I can see what you mean. Here are my thought.

Many talk about the gap b/w the CD drive, but I think it is there because it is a multipurpose bay to allow many other components to be used in there and I believe the little gap is there to allo flexibility for other components / options.

About the quality, the notebook may not seem highly crafted, but as you use it more and more you will begin to realize that a lot of thought and enginerring have gone into it.

How many laptops out there allows one to be able to take apart every component to be accessible as much as TPs. In my opinion none.

Of course the keyboard quality and feel are second to none as well as their customer service.

I am sure as time goes you will begin to appreciate it more and more.

I know I did. Ended up buying 3 TPs within a year and I am about to purchase a 4th one. Once you go IBM, you never go back.

JK

[Hammerstein]

I think the "bay gap" is the result of the system being tapered up slightly, and the decision that it'd be silly to create a larger case for the various drives to directly follow the angle.

In terms of the flex - I find it's true, also, to some extent, but as other posters have noted, the laptop does prove it's value fast in service and such. And, to be honest, even though it flexes, when closed that same top is pretty darn tough.

[bill bolton]

> However, I'm left with the impression that the quality is not really any
> different than the cheap laptops I've seen and tested at Best Buy,
> CompUSA, etc.

The corporation that I work for standardised on IBM laptops several years ago and we have tens of thousands of them, including thousands of T40/41/42 models. While I thoughtfully look after my T41 (and the 600X before that) which has literally been all over the Asia Pacific region, I know that many of my associates are not at all careful with them, but none the less they keep working and are very, very maintainable computers.

I have on occasions had to hire an additional laptop from local resources when working on specific business projects at remote locations, and I can absolutely assure you that there is a BIG gap in overall construction quality, robustness and reliability (and an understanding of what attributes makes a laptop sustainable in the field) between the el cheapo brand laptops and the top tier laptops such as the IBM T series.

Cheers,

Bill

[ctbenski]

This may look a little off-topic but I think it is not.
Any of you guys ever had a pair of Koss PortaPro headphones? The following may bear some similarities to what you guys tried to say above.
1. These phones look outdated, cheapo, ugly and somewhat like they were made in 1983,
2. The feel is all flexing and plasticky.
BUT
1. After a while you see that they sound just best of all portable headphones you've ever owned (and this is what it is about, function, right?)
2. The build quality just defends itself. My cans passed the world's ultimate hardware build quality test (unattended exposure to a hyperactive 3-yr old boy for a period of one hour) and came out with only very minor damage, and they have been taking daily battering for years,
3. If anything indeed goes wrong, the warranty is for life and the customer service just replaces the phones with no hassle,
4. In the end, you end up wondering how you ever lived without this thing, you start worrying what will happen if they stop making them, and if you see someone in the street wearing the same type, you two exchange mysterious smiles